22 Jan

AACA Museum opens Lotus: The Art of Lightness January 24

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Hershey, PA- The Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Museum presents Lotus: The Art of Lightness from January 24-April 26 2015. This compelling exhibit offers a selection of Lotus road cars and racing cars throughout their 66 year history covering over 15 models from a 1956 Mark VI to the 2014 Evora and also includes representative examples of Lotus engineered vehicles.

Colin Chapman, the founder of Lotus, and the man behind Lotus’ racing successes and iconic road cars said “I believe in getting light weight through elegance of design” translated through folklore as the mantra ‘Simplify and add lightness’. In today’s automotive world, making vehicles lighter is the newest method to extract efficiency and performance. But for Colin Chapman and Lotus it has always been the essence of their design and engineering philosophy.

The first Lotus came from the humblest of sources. In 1948 Colin Chapman, a young engineering student, became enthused with automotive competition and sought to enter the unique world of British Trials competition. The basis for this was an Austin Seven “Chummy”, an antiquated pre-war people’s car that Chapman transformed into his first competition special, dubbed Lotus. His forays into competition were successful and led to the formation of Lotus Engineering by 1954. It didn’t take long for Lotus Engineering to be in full production of bespoke Chapman designed chassis and Lotus subsequently invaded and triumphed in the world of British Club racing and international motorsports competition.

Since those early days, Lotus and the genius of Colin Chapman have been at the forefront of racing technology and automotive design. Colin Chapman’s philosophy of light weight, efficiency of design and innovation resulted in seven Formula 1 World Championships as well as wins at Le Mans and Indianapolis and championships in Saloon car racing, the World Rally Championship, sports car racing and the lower open wheel formulas. Colin Chapman’s philosophy of simplification, light weight and the least amount of parts effectively deployed that went into his racing car design were directly translated into Lotus’ road cars and produced a pantheon of iconoclastic machines such as the Seven, Elite, Elan, Cortina, Europa, Esprit, Elise, Exige, and Evora, truly making them “racing cars for the road”.

In addition to producing class-leading sports cars, Lotus has become a globally respected automotive engineering consultancy, working with many of the world’s most prestigious car manufacturers. Their expertise in ride and handling has made Lotus the standard to which all others are compared.

About the AACA Museum:
The Antique Automobile Club of America Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, displays beautifully restored automobiles, buses and motorcycles in unique life-like scenes representing the 1890s – 1980s in a cross-country journey from New York to San Francisco. This Museum, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is known to be one of the largest automotive museums. Special exhibits change several times a year and focus on a variety of eras and types of vehicles. The Museum is in South Hanover Township, located just off Route 39, one mile west of Hersheypark Drive, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Regular admission $12, seniors age 61 and older $11, juniors age 4-12 $9, children age 3 and under are FREE. The Museum is open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Special Note: There will be an opening reception for this exhibit on Friday, January 23rd from 6-9 PM. Tickets are available for $15 per person and can be purchased online or by calling the ticket counter at 717-566-7100 ext. 100.

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Images courtesy of Michael Furman

06 Jan

Lime Rock Offers Winter Autocross Days Beginning January 9th

Anyone can get ‘Slideways’ on the Winter Autocross Course at Lime Rock Park

Anyone can get ‘Slideways’ on the Winter Autocross Course at Lime Rock Park

Lakeville, CT – In what is a first for a Northeast U.S. motorsports venue, starting this month Lime Rock Park is offering Winter Autocross Days. Lime Rock now has large-capacity snowmaking and grooming equipment and has scheduled Friday and Saturday winter autocross events open to any licensed driver. No winter driving experience is necessary.

“First and foremost, driving hard and getting ‘slideways’ in the snow is simply a whole bunch of fun,” said Lime Rock lead winter driving coach Stephan Bastrzycki. “Who hasn’t booted the tail out or hand-braked their car in a snowy parking lot somewhere?

“You don’t have to have any previous experience. Doing this under the watch of our instructors on Lime Rock’s autocross course, not only is it fun, thrilling and very safe, but you cannot believe what you learn with regard to what we call ‘car control skills’ which will make you a much better, safer driver, whether on snow, ice, in the rain or in the dry,” Bastrzycki continued.

“Any vehicle – all-wheel-, rear-wheel- or front-wheel drive – can be driven quickly in the snow. We’ll teach those uninitiated in the fun of snow driving some specialized techniques appropriate to each vehicle type.”

The Winter Driving events – some people call them “snowcross” or “WAX” (winter autocross) – are held on Lime Rock’s 1,200-foot autocross course in the upper infield area. Three or four cars are sent out at a time, with appropriate spacing between each vehicle; there is no racing involved.

A luxury chalet provides a warm respite for restroom breaks as well as snacks, coffee, hot chocolate and beverages. A bonfire will be going at the autocross staging area, too.

Lime Rock’s Winter Autocross facility is the direct result of requests by the members of the private Lime Rock Drivers Club (LRDC). One of its newest members, realizing he could help bring this to fruition, connected us with the right experts and equipment to make it happen. The Winter Autocross facility was created primarily for the Lime Rock Drivers Club, which has graciously opened it up for non-members between the private LRDC days.

The winter autocross developed out of the success of Lime Rock’s Open Autocross Days (including a season-long series championship) held April through November. The 2013 and 2014 Open Autocross seasons saw more than 500 drivers – from teens and seniors to track-day enthusiasts and race car drivers – experience the fun and excitement of driving as fast as they can in a fun, safe environment. Now anyone can do it all winter long thanks to schedulable, weather-independent snowmaking at Lime Rock Park.

The cost is $300 per driver and includes coaching from professional winter driving instructors.

Lime Rock Winter Open Enrollment Autocross Days:
Friday, January 9
Saturday, January 10
Friday, January 23
Saturday, January 24
Friday, January 30
Saturday, January 31
Friday, February 6
Saturday, February 7
Friday, February 20
Saturday, February 21
Friday, February 27
Saturday, February 28
Friday, March 6
Saturday, March 7

Reservations and purchases of Open Enrollment Winter Autocross can be done online. Questions can be directed to the Winter Autocross specialists at 860.435.5000.

Courtesy: Lime Rock Park

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All photography by Casey Keil and Rick Roso at Lime Rock Park.

All photography by Casey Keil and Rick Roso at Lime Rock Park.

 

05 Nov

Lime Rock’s 2015 Event Schedule is Announced

Lime Rock, CT – Today, Lime Rock Park announced its 2015 Major Event Schedule:

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Lime Rock’s Traditional Memorial Day Weekend Season Opener
Featuring the Trans Am Series & the Sunday Royals Car Show
Friday, Saturday & Sunday, May 22-24

Trans Am cars are big, bad ass and brutal – and really fast at Lime Rock. With Dodge coming on board to Trans Am in 2014, the real “Pony Car Wars” are back: Mustang versus Camaro versus Challenger. The next day is the sixth annual Sunday Royals Car Show, Connecticut’s best “workingman’s” show, the anti-concours concours; great cars of every kind, from hot rods to sports cars and everything in between. If it’s cool, it’s here.

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TUDOR United SportsCar Championship
Featuring IMSA Prototype Challenge and GT Daytona
Plus Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
Friday & Saturday, July 24-25

IMSA is back after a one-year hiatus, with the super-quick PC Prototypes and the GT Daytona (GTD) production-based sports cars racing together in this mid-summer spree of speed! The ORECA FLM09 prototypes reach more than 150 mph on Sam Posey Straight – and the GTDs (everything from Aston Martins, Audi R8s and BMW Z4s to Ferraris, 911s and Dodge SRT Vipers) aren’t far behind. PLUS, both classes of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge – some of the best stock car road racing in the world – are here. You’ll see the big, loud and fast Camaros, Porsches, Mustangs, Aston Martins, BMWs and 370Zs banging fenders in GS, while the ST race has the quick and agile Hondas, VWs, BMW 128/328, Mazda 3/MX-5 and Porsche Boxsters. IMSA has been racing at Lime Rock since the early 1970s, and the tradition continues.

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Lime Rock’s Traditional Labor Day Weekend Historic Festival 33
Featuring the Thursday Race Car Parade and the Sunday in the Park Concours & Gathering of the Marques
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday, September 3-7

Since 1983, the East Coast’s premier vintage and historic motorsport event has been Lime Rock’s Historic Festival and its companion Sunday in the Park Concours & Gathering of the Marques. Honored Guests and Honored Collectors help create five days of motoring magnificence that begins with the free Vintage Race Car Parade and Falls Village Street Fair on Thursday, Sept. 3, continues with racing on Friday and Saturday, the Concours and Gathering on Sunday (more than 1,200 cars are in the Park!), and ends at 6:00 p.m. Monday, Sept. 7, when the final checkered flag falls on the last of 40 races. As always, more than 250 vintage and historic race cars will fill A Paddock, the Swap Meet in B Paddock will be packed, the Midway is alive with activities – and the racing on the track is non-stop from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Saturday and Monday. Historic Festival 33… There’s nothing else like it anywhere in North America.

 

Tickets www.limerock.com

03 Nov

First Vintage 24 Hour Race at Daytona Nov. 12-16

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Daytona, FL –The traditions of the 24 Hours of Daytona will be revived and relived at full speed on the high banks and infield road course of Daytona International Speedway from November 12-16, 2014 at Historic Sportscar Racing’s inaugural Classic 24 race weekend.

The inaugural HSR Classic 24 Hour Daytona vintage races are dedicated to cars and drivers that raced in Daytona’s classic endurance races of the past. High speeds, high banks and a long night of six period-correct race groups competing on a rotating schedule, the Classic 24 is open to all significant Daytona sports cars that raced from 1961 through 2010.

The Classic 24 Hour Daytona 2014 will be the longest and the toughest vintage and historic car race in North America, an American-flavored version of the Le Mans Classic 24 hour historic car race that runs every other summer on the famous Le Mans 24 hour circuit in France. Competitors will race on the full nine-turn, 3.56-mile Daytona 24 Hour road-oval circuit that includes the infield road course and the steeply banked 2.5 mile Daytona “tri-oval”.

Since 1966 the 24 Hours of Daytona has been a premier fixture on the international racing calendar. Originally the opening race of the World Sports Car Championship the Daytona 24 Hour has long been a magnet for European and Asian racing teams.

“That Daytona tradition will continue in the Classic 24 Hour on November 15th and 16th,” said HSR President David Hinton. “This event really struck a nerve internationally. We already have over 140 entries in the six race groups for the Classic 24, many from European teams. The latest is a Porsche 907/LH entered by Willi Kauhsen Motorsport to be driven by Le Mans winner Jurgen Barth.”

A fleet of European Group C prototypes from the 1980s is expected, along with a cadre of Daytona’s endurance racing’s all-stars. Five-time Daytona 24 Hour winner Hurley Haywood leads a cast of Daytona superstars who will race in the inaugural Classic 24 on November 15-16, 2014.

Joining Haywood on the Classic 24 grid will be Porsche factory racer Patrick Long, 1989 Le Mans winner Jochen Mass, Daytona, Le Mans and Sebring winner Andy Wallace, three-time Daytona 24 Hour winner Brian Redman, Brian Johnson (Lead Singer, AC/DC), two-time Daytona 24 Hour winner Elliot Forbes-Robinson, Forest Barber, World Touring Car Champion Dieter Quester, Sebring 12 Hour winner John Fitzpatrick, grand prix and sports car ace Arturo Merzario, two-time Grand-Am GT Champion Leh Keen, GTD Championship-leader Cooper MacNeil, Rolex 24 winner Rob Dyson and son Chris Dyson in one of their Rolex 24 winners.

An early Classic 24 entry is the Porsche 934 raced by the late Bob Wollek in the 1976 and 1977 World Championship in races such as the Le Mans 24 Hours and 1,000kms of the Nurburgring.

The Classic 24 Hours’ six race groups will be organized chronologically and correspond to the history of the 24 Hours of Daytona and its ancestor, the Daytona Continental.

Classic 24 Hour Daytona 2014 – Race Groups

  • Group A – Sports racers, prototypes and GT (Grand Touring) cars from 1960 through 1972. Corvettes, early Porsche 911s and Ferraris.
  • Group B – Cars from 1973 through 1982 – Corvettes, Porsche 934 and 935 Turbos, BMW 3.5 CSL. Porsche Carrera RS and RSR.
  • Group C – Cars from 1983 through 1993 – Group C and GTP
  • Group D – Cars from 1994 through 2002 – GT1 and World Sports Cars such as the Ferrari 333SP
  • Group E – Cars from 2003 through 2010 – Audi R8, Daytona Prototypes
  • Group F – HSR Group (HSR approved racing sports and GT cars)

“The Classic 24 hour race starts with the green flag for Group A at 1:00 PM on Saturday, November 15, 2014 and Group F goes under the checkered flag at 1:00 PM Sunday November 16th,” said Hinton. “Each group races for one hour…four times, day and night.”

Friday November 14th will feature a full slate of HSR races starting at 8:00 AM with qualifying races for the Classic 24 beginning at 9:30 AM. Friday’s races conclude with the 5:00 PM Bob Woodman Tires International/American challenge. Weekend passes start at $35.00 per person.

For more information, visit Classic24Hour.com.

[Source: Sports Car Graphic]

15 Sep

NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne at Lime Rock this Thursday, Sept. 18

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LAKEVILLE, Conn. (Sept. 15) – Jeff Gordon, along with teammate Kasey Kahne, Rick Hendrick and Alan Gustafson, are at Lime Rock Park from 3:00 to 5:30, Thursday, Sept. 18, for the track’s efforts to raise funds and awareness for AARP Foundation’s “Drive to End Hunger” campaign. NASCAR star Gordon has spearheaded Drive to End Hunger since 2011.

Gordon, Kahne and Gustafson (Gordon’s crew chief on the #24 Drive to End Hunger Hendrick Motorsports Chevy SS in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series) are giving “hot laps” around Lime Rock’s storied 1.5-mile, 7-turn circuit to those who donated to Drive to End Hunger, following a 45-minute hosted interview for hundreds of fans, each of whom donated $24 to be here. They’ll be driving prototype 2015 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28s.

Local racing star Liam Dwyer (Southbury, Conn.), the armed forces amputee who made national news in May following his IMSA race win at Lime Rock on Memorial Day weekend – and someone Gordon has wanted to meet – will also be here; he’ll be giving Gordon some “recon” laps prior to the hot laps as Jeff has not raced at Lime Rock before.

Lime Rock Park has set a goal of raising $96,000 in 2014 for Drive to End Hunger, the track’s Official Charity, and Thursday is the biggest element so far of the effort which provides food to needful seniors via the Connecticut Food Bank.

08 Sep

New England Hot Rod Reunion on tap for next weekend

nehrrEpping, NH – The coolest cars in the Northeast will proudly be on display Sept. 12-14 during the NHRA Motorsports Museum New England Hot Rod Reunion presented by AAA Insurance at New England Dragway. Three days of classic cars, nostalgic quarter-mile drag racing, and honoring the legends of drag racing will take place at the scenic facility outside of Boston.

The event comes to life Sept. 12 at 8 a.m. as hundreds of vintage show cars pour into the facility for the start of the Show ‘n’ Shine featuring a streaming parade of hot rods, classics, and customs that will be on display during the event. Gates will open at 8 a.m. each day of the reunion.

The racing on the dragstrip begins Friday at 9 a.m. with nostalgic nitro quarter-mile drag racing. Cars that raced during the early days of the NHRA and New England Dragway will thrill those in attendance with passes down the track in a salute to days past. Time trials, qualifying, and exhibition runs will be showcased during the day.

The first day of the reunion concludes in exciting fashion at 5 p.m. with a jet car running at more than 200 mph. Flames, smoke, and the sound of a screaming jet engine is the perfect way to end the day.

Saturday will be the day that the legends take center stage at the event with a reception and autograph session at the track. Two autograph sessions will take place featuring grand marshal Bob Frey. Also honored will be Gil Coraine, John Healey, Al Hanna, George Weiler, and “Jungle Pam” Hardy. The Hot Rod Reunion Reception takes place at noon and is a perfect way to hear from the honorees at the event.

Saturday’s finale features the world-famous Cacklefest parade on the dragstrip. New England Dragway will come alive with the sounds of dozens of nostalgic race cars from yesteryear. The exhaust pipes on these machines glow red, and fans clamor for the sights and sounds of the dramatic day-ending event.

The weekend concludes Sunday with eliminations starting after the pre-race ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Also taking to the track will be an encore Cacklefest and another jet-car exhibition.

• SCHEDULE: The event begins at 8 a.m. each day, with racing beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 12; racing starts at 9 a.m. Saturday Sept. 13, and 9 a.m. Sunday Sept. 14.

• TICKETS: Single-day tickets are only $25; three-day tickets are $75 at the gate; and children 15 and younger will be admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult. Auto Club members, Show Your Card and Save on admission.

• ON THE WEB: For more information, log on to www.nhramuseum.org.

12 Aug

IMSA Tudor Championship Racing Coming to Lime Rock in 2015

Lakeville CT – The IMSA Tudor United SportsCar Championship series has announced its 2015 schedule, and it is set to visit Lime Rock Park for the first time, featuring the Tudor GT Daytona (GTD) and Prototype Challenge (PC) series on July 24-25, 2015.

“This is simply an outstanding and exciting schedule for racing fans across North America” said IMSA CEO Ed Bennett in a statement, “We wanted to further elevate what was an impressive Tudor Championship schedule in 2014 and we accomplished that goal with the addition of Lime Rock Park by popular demand.”

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IMSA Tudor GT Daytona (below) and Prototype Challenge (above) coming to Lime Rock in 2015

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In addition, both classes (Grand Sport and Street Tuner) of the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series will be racing that weekend. “This will be a fabulous sports car racing weekend,” said track president Skip Barber. “All these championships are known for big, highly competitive fields, especially when they race at Lime Rock.”

Tudor GTD cars include the Aston Martin V12, Audi R8 LMS, BMW Z4, Ferrari 458 Italia, Porsche 911 GT America and the SRT Dodge Viper GT3-R. The Prototype Challenge cars are much like the high-tech LMP2 cars but with a spec engine and chassis.

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The Continental Tire series (above) was here this past Memorial Day weekend, where they put on a great show. The GS cars include Aston Martin Vantage, BMW M3, Chevy Camaro GS.R, Ford Mustang Boss 302 R, Nissan 370Z, Porsche 997 and Subaru WRX-STI. The STs are BMW 128 and 325, Honda Civic Si, Hyundai Genesis, Mazda MX-5, Nissan Altima and Porsche Boxster and Cayman.

“IMSA Tudor and Continental sports cars at Lime Rock are perfect for a mid-summer race weekend,” Barber says. “We are all looking forward to it.”

Lime Rock Park
860.435.5000
info@limerock.com

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18 Jun

Climb to the Clouds is returning to the Mt. Washington Auto Road June 26th – 29th, 2014!

Organized and sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of New Hampshire, the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will be a 3-day motorsports festival including 80+ car competition field filled with some of the best drivers from around North America and the world as well as a contingent of rare vintage race cars.

Also known as the “Climb to the Clouds”, the Mt. Washington Hillclimb is one of America’s oldest motorsports events, first run in July, 1904, seven years before the first 500-mile race at the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway and twelve years prior to the inaugural Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado. The Climb to the Clouds was run sporadically from 1904-1961, then not again until 1990 when it was run consistently until 2001. Following a ten-year hiatus, the Mt. Washington Hillclimb returned in 2011 as part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Mt. Washington Auto Road which first opened on August 8, 1861.

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L.J. Phelps sets the first official speed record at the Mt. Washington Auto Road in August of 1903, a year prior to the first Climb to the Clouds Hillclimb. Phelps record time was 1 hr 48 min and he drive his own car, a “Phelps”.

Originally referred to as the Mt. Washington Carriage Road due to the horse-drawn wagons that traversed the road to the summit of Mt. Washington in the late 1800’s, auto manufacturers believed that the Carriage Road would serve as the perfect proving ground for them to demonstrate the ability of their new “horseless carriages.” Promoted as “the greatest contest of motor vehicles ever held”, the inaugural Climb to the Clouds in 1904 included manufacturers such as Rambler, Mercedes, Oldsmobile, Stanley Steamer, Pierce and a high priced Daimler.

In the 1904 Hillclimb F.E. Stanley from Newton, Massachusetts, co-creator of the famous Stanley Steamer, drove his 6-horsepower, 800-pound steam-powered Locomobile to the summit of Mt. Washington only to be beaten by Harry Harkness from New York driving a 40-horsepower Mercedes that weighed 2,200 pounds. Harkness posted a winning time of 24 minutes, 37 and 3/5 seconds.

Since that first year of competition, many well-known drivers have competed and won the Climb to the Clouds including “Cannonball” Baker in 1928 & 1932 and the legendary Carroll Shelby in 1956. Driving a Franklin in 1928, Baker raced to a time of 14:49.6 seconds. Carroll Shelby, driving a specially prepared Ferrari roadster in 1956, posted a record-setting run of 10:21.8 on his way to victory.

Carroll Shelby racing a Ferrari in 1956

Carroll Shelby racing a Ferrari in 1956

In 1961 Bill Rutan from Connecticut drove his Porsche Carerra-powered Volkswagen to another new record time of 9:13.0 that would stand for the next 29 years – until the return of the race in 1990 when Champion rally driver Tim O’Neil from nearby Franconia, NH drove his 300+ horsepower all-wheel-drive Volkswagen Rally Golf to the summit in an amazing time of just 7 minutes and 45 seconds.

Bill Rutan setting new record of 9 minutes, 13 seconds in the 1961 Climb to the Clouds

Bill Rutan setting new record of 9 minutes, 13 seconds in the 1961 Climb to the Clouds

Following the return of the Mt. Washington Hillclimb in 1990, the event was run annually as part of the Mt. Washington Auto Road’s summer event schedule until 2001. During that time, several new course records were shared between 7-time Sports Car Club of America National Rally Champion Paul Choiniere from Shelburne, VT and multi-time Canadian Rally Champion Frank Sprongl from Mississauga, Ontario. Sprongl went on to set a record time of 6:41.99 in 1998 driving his 500 horsepower Audi Quattro S2 that would stand for 13 years.

Six time Canadian Rally Champion Frank Sprongl ascending Mt. Washington in 1998 in his 500bhp Audi Quattro S2, setting a record at 6min 41.99 seconds.

Six time Canadian Rally Champion Frank Sprongl ascending Mt. Washington in 1998 in his 500bhp Audi Quattro S2, setting a record at 6min 41.99 seconds.

In 2011, ten years after the last Mt. Washington Hillclimb was run, Subaru Rally Team USA driver and 4-time Rally America Overall Champion David Higgins from the Isle of Man came to Mt. Washington for the first time. Driving a Vermont SportsCar-prepared 2011 Subaru WRX STI all-wheel-drive rally car, Higgins set a new overall course record of 6:11.54 – smashing Sprongl’s previous record time by more than 30 seconds!

David Higgins drives a Subaru WRX to new Mt. Washington record.

David Higgins drives a Subaru WRX to new Mt. Washington record.

Those racing in the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb will be competing on the very same 7.6 mile road as the original 1904 event 110 years earlier. Of course these days the surface has changed with nearly 87% of the road now asphalt and 13% still gravel. The 7.6 mile Auto Road is one of the ultimate challenges for driver and automobile alike. The serpentine road is lined with trees on the lower half and dramatic drop-offs above halfway as it winds its’ way to the 6, 288 foot summit of the Northeast’s tallest peak – Mt. Washington.

The 2014 entry list includes three of the past five recent Mt. Washington Hillclimb record holders (O’Neil, Sprongl and Higgins); the top twenty teams from the Rally America National Championship; a variety of high-horsepower, purpose-built hillclimb cars and a hand-picked vintage class filled with racecars steeped in motorsports history.

David Higgins recently stated “The hill is one of those special driving events and it’s mix of different surfaces, bumps and deceptive bends makes it so tough. The added history of the climb also adds some extra pressure. Then you throw the weather into the mix and you know you are going to have to be at your best to succeed.”

Other notable drivers attending the Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb in June include X Games legend, extreme sports icon and 4-time Rally America National Champion Travis Pastrana from Davidsonville, MD, who set an unofficial Mt. Washington Hillclimb record of 6:20.47 driving a 2010 Subaru WRX STI rally car in September 2010 while recording a television special for Red Bull.

When asked about returning for this year’s Climb to the Clouds, Pastrana said “This year is very special for me because I had the record and now my teammate David Higgins has it. We with both get the chance to race with similar equipment and with similar conditions. It will be a fight to see who can claim the fastest time and a challenge for everyone competing to try and take the record, because anyone expecting to win will probably have to post a time that is faster than anyone has ever been.”

In addition to Higgins and Pastrana, former Belgian National Rally Champion David Sterycx, now from Los Angeles, CA, who competes in the Rally America National Championship will be testing his skills on Mt. Washington as will the 2009 Rally America 2-wheel-drive National Champion Dillon Van Way from Carencro, Louisiana; current and former New England Hillclimb Association Champions Kevin Gale from Sutton, NH and Sherman Baumann from Moodus, CT.

Also returning to Mt. Washington this year will be three very popular racers from New Hampshire who have competed in every Mt. Washington Hillclimb race since the event returned in 1990 – 14 events in all. These drivers include David Patten from Dunbarton, NH; Drew Young from Loudon, NH and Don Taylor from Claremont, NH. All three drivers are regular competitors in the New England Hillclimb Championship which hosts hillclimb events on access roads at the Mt. Ascutney State Park, Burke Mountain State Park, Okemo Mountain Resort and Mt. Philo State Park – all of which are located in the state of Vermont. Taylor will be pulling double-duty at this year’s hillclimb as he’ll also serve as the event’s Chief Technical Inspector.

The ever-popular Vintage Class meanwhile features a lineup of ten prestigious racing cars from the 1940’s through the late 1970’s. Although all vehicles featured in this class have played a significant role in motorsports history through the years, the 1958 Porsche Carrera-powered Volkswagen “Bathtub” probably boasts the most Mt. Washington history of all cars entered. Driven in 1961 by the legendary Bill Rutan from Connecticut, Rutan and the “Bathtub”, as it had come to be known, returned to Mt. Washington 29 years later in 1990 and raced to the top of Mt. Washington once again – beating his 1961 record-setting time by almost a minute!

Although Rutan won’t be sitting behind the wheel of the “Bathtub” when it return to Mt. Washington this coming June, the completely restored Carrera-powered Volkswagen will be driven by another well-known Connecticut racer, Wayne Carini from Portland, CT. The popular host of the Velocity Channel’s “Chasing Classic Cars” television show, Carini will not only be racing the vintage Volkswagen, he’ll also serve as the Grand Marshal of the 2014 Subaru Mt. Washington Hillclimb.

Porsche Carrera-powered Volkswagen “Bathtub”

Porsche Carrera-powered Volkswagen “Bathtub”

The three-day motorsports event will consist of two half-days of practice on Friday morning until noon and again on Saturday morning until noon, June 27th and 28th. Although spectators will not be allowed to view practice runs by the drivers and teams on Friday morning, they will be able to enjoy viewing practice from the base area of the Mt. Washington Auto Road on Saturday morning for free or be shuttled to half-way for viewing from there for a fee.

16 May

Mille Miglia. The start the second leg.

personal2gbYesterday the crowds gave a warm welcome to the Mille Miglia, travelling through the Veneto and at their arrival in Padua. This morning the departure from Thermae Abano Montegrotto, bound for Rome, where the teams are expected at Castel Sant’Angelo for 10.30pm.

Brescia, May 16th, 2014 – The Mille Miglia set off again this morning, direction Rome. The passage through the Veneto was marked by a warm reception from the crowd. Last night’s ranking ended with Cane and Reichle in first place (driving a Bugatti T 37), followed by Vesco and Guerini driving a Fiat Siata 514 MM and Moceri & Cavalleri in an Aston Martin Le Mans.

Photos from 2013 Mille Miglia

Photos from 2013 Mille Miglia

“I want to congratulate the Mille Miglia and its organizers” – said Angelo Sticchi Damiani, President of the ICA – “and I also wish to thank all of the ACI organisations involved along the course, both for helping with the organization and with the welcome given to the teams throughout the legs in the different areas. ”

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At the moment the convoy of the Mille Miglia has passed through Ferrara and the ranking has changed. In first place we find Moceri and Cavalleri, followed by Cane and Reichle and, surprisingly, by Takemoto and Takemoto in the Bugatti 35A.

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After stopping for lunch in San Marino, the cars will set off again, this time for Rome, where they will arrive in the beautiful setting represented by the gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo, at around 10.30pm.

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Mille Miglia on social networks

All information and updates on the Mille Miglia can be found on the website www.1000miglia.it and, after registering on the press site, also on www.press.1000miglia.it , on which press releases, photos and video footage of the race will be made available. You can also follow the Mille Miglia on social networks: Facebook (official page of the Mille Miglia), Twitter (@millemiglialive) and YouTube (Mille Miglia Channel).